The Senate in France voted heavily in favor of making women’s right to abortion a part of the country’s constitution.
Since 1974, abortion has been permissible in France, but there is growing pressure to enhance and make it a more enduring legal protection.
The suggestion was supported by 267 votes to 50 on Wednesday. It was approved by the lower house, the National Assembly. Many people are worried that in countries like the US and Poland, the right to end a pregnancy is being taken away.
French President Emmanuel Macron wants to have another important vote on Monday. Both the Senate and the National Assembly will meet together in Versailles,outside of Paris.
If most of the members of the joint session agree to change the constitution, there won’t be a need to ask the public to vote on it. In November 2022, a survey by Ifop found that 86% of people supported the amendment while the National Assembly was voting on the legislation.
All of the important political parties in the country support abortion rights. The words used in the amendment about abortion were changed after the 2022 vote, when the National Assembly approved the “right” to abortion.
Last month, the government voted to support the right to have an abortion, after Mr Macron’s government requested changes to the constitution to guarantee women’s freedom to have an abortion.
The Senate approved the new wording about “guaranteed freedom” on Wednesday.
Mr Macron said on X that he is dedicated to making it impossible to take away women’s right to have an abortion by putting it in the constitution.
In response to the vote, the Justice Minister Eric Dupond-Moretti said that France is soon going to have a “historic day” because it will be the first country in the world to protect women’s freedom to decide what happens to their bodies in its constitution.
Several conservative senators told the AFP news agency that they felt pressured to agree to the amendment.
I was told that if I don’t vote for it, my daughters won’t come for Christmas anymore.
The argument about abortion has been going on in the US since the Supreme Court took away the right for women to have an abortion in June 2022.
Last month, 21 out of 50 states in the country have made laws against abortion. Some of these laws are very strict and could result in doctors and others helping with the procedure facing severe penalties like going to jail,paying a lot of money, and losing their medical licenses.
In2020,Poland’s highest court made a decision to almost completely ban abortion in the country. Now, it is only allowed in situations where a woman has been sexually assaulted, has a serious health risk during pregnancy, or when her life is in danger.